ABSTRACT
During the night of Friday, 17 March 1623, Charles Prince of Wales and the Marquis, soon to be Duke, of Buckingham appeared at the house of the surprised English ambassador, the Earl of Bristol. In the next five and a half months the Spanish king Philip IV, his court and the city of Madrid entertained the royal guest and his retinue with an extravagant series of festivities, hunting parties, banquets, bullfights and 'canas' games. The eighteen year-old Philip not only desired to impress his royal guest; these festivities also had their political function in the complicated marriage negotiations and tactical manoeuvring of both sides. The entertainments and festivities thus, like the gifts bestowed, the splendour exhibited, the gallantry and generosity demonstrated, were all aimed at impressing the English visitors during the rare opportunity of having such a high-ranking royal figure like Prince Charles in person at the Spanish court.
